Metal Head Christmas Party, Barra de Navidad, MX, Abel Super Deal, Hafele and Hughes, Monster Reds

Barra de Navidad, in a Mexican Paradise My oldest son, Troy Bachmann keeps a 26' bluewater fly fishing boat called the "Dream Catcher" at Barra de Navida, Mexico. We have fished with him many times over the last several years. Around Barra, the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean offer up a splendid assortment of both pelagic and near-shore species of saltwater sport fish. This year we arrived at Barra on 11/21 and left 11/24. We like to get on the water early, like a quarter 'til oh dark thirty. Many of the game fish around Barra have large eyes indicating that they are equipped for low light conditions. Our first morning we had a steady bite from Skipjack Tuna. They were feeding on very small bait. If you fish Pacific Mexico in the fall, I would encourage you to add some smaller flies to your assortment.

The last day we glided into a shallow cove and Troy caught the big Jack Crevelle on a #2 Deep Eyed Minnow. The last time we were at Barra, was November, 2005. The water temperature was an unseasonably cold 74-degrees instead of the average 78-82. This trip the water temperature was the warmest we have ever encountered in saltwater at 86.5-degrees.
About a dozen Horse Eye Jacks were daintily sipping like trout, but in a saltwater line-foam.	We get a big kick out of examining, identifying and photographing the bait that big fish feed on.
Barra is a seaside town in a tropical paradise. If you ever get to Barra, you might want to stay at Cabo Blanco, and have a Grande size glass of fresh squeezed orange juice while sitting next to the rail overlooking the beach from Bananas' balcony. About 01/15/10, we plan on doing it again.

Nymph Fishing, a workshop with Rick Hafele and Dave Hughes. Rick Hafele, author of Nymph Fishing Rivers and Streams and Dave Hughes, author of Nymphs for Streams & Stillwaters

Rick covers nymph rigging and tactics to suit all of the situations you might ever encounter in nymphing: on streams and rivers, spring creeks and tailwaters, lakes and ponds. Learn to choose the right rig, and fish the right method, to catch trout from whatever water you find yourself fishing.

Dave covers nymph pattern selection, with emphasis on an essential box of searching nymphs, another of imitative nymphs, and a third for stillwater situations. You'll learn about the insects and other trout foods that nymphs imitate. You'll learn to select the right nymph, or pair of them, to suit the situation and please the trout.

A question and answer session assures that you'll get to hear about problems that have been bugging you in your own nymphing. This workshop is suitable if you're interested in improving your nymph fishing, increasing your catch, and having more fun doing it. You'll get a lot out of it whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or expert angler.

Don't miss this opportunity to spend time with two experts in the field of fly fishing for trout, a chance that comes rarely, and one that you're not likely to get again. You'll learn a lot about nymphing. You'll also have a lot of fun.

Rick Hafele, in addition to authoring the best-selling Nymph Fishing Rivers & Streams, is well-known for his series of Nymph Fishing DVDs with John Smeraglio. He is also the talent in the classic Scientific Anglers video 'Anatomy of a Trout Stream'.

Dave Hughes, in addition to authoring the recent Nymphs for Streams & Stillwaters, is best known for his more than 20 books about fly fishing for trout, including Nymph Fishing, Trout Flies, American Fly Tying Manual, and Essential Trout Flies.

Rick and Dave together are co-authors of the classic book Western Hatches and Western Mayfly Hatches. Rick and Dave's books will be available for sale at the workshop. They will also be glad to autograph any books you already own.

Date: February 20, 2010
Time: 10am to 4pm with a lunch break from roughly 12:00 to 1:00
Location: The Fly Fishing Shop
Price (pre-registered): $50 (at the door): $60
Space is limited; pre-registration is recommended.

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NYMPH-WORK

Nymph Fishing, a workshop with Rick Hafele and Dave Hughes, February 20, at The Fly Fishing Shop, per person

$50

Monster South Carolina Reds
David Walker sent us this extraordinary picture below. We requested more information and David has allowed us to share it with all of you.

David is the guy in the orange. These big Redfish pushed their 12wts to the limit.

The guide was Sarah Gardner. Sarah with her husband Brian Horsley are the most prominent of the fly fishing guides in the outer banks area of North Carolina. There web site is: http://www.outerbanksflyfishing.com/.

My fishing partner for this particular trip was Justi Campa. Justi is a well known fishing guide from Argentina and currently lives in Cahrlottesville, VA. Justi 's web site: is: http://www.flyfishingpatagonia.com/

This trip started off in Harkers Island, NC. Harkers Island is probably one of the first fishing villages to embrace sport fishing. It is located on the tip of a barrier Island approximately twenty miles from Beaufort, NC. It also houses the headquarters for the Cape Lookout National Seashore( National Park Service).

Our fishing dates were for three days beginning November 23 thru Nov 25. Weather forecasts were not good. Heavy rain and wind were forecast for the Outer Banks. This is not an area where one takes chances. Sarah's boat is a Jones Brothers 23 foot light tackle edition. These boats are very seaworthy and can take more weather then most fisherman!

The first two days of fishing were spent chasing birds to the south along the beach. The False Albacore, which had been in abundance appeared to have settled down and not doing much in the way of bait chasing. Usually you can find big bait balls with plenty of action. We were collecting a few blue fish and a few Albies but nothing to make one wish to stay out in the rain and the wind. It was not possible to get to the other side of the huge Cape Lookout shoal.

On the third day the weather cleared and Sarah told us that she and her husband were going out to search for some of the big "Bull' reds that had been showing near an offshore wreck. Also as an added bonus the weather forecast was not bad for the morning but did not look promising for the afternoon. So at 0700 local time we set off to cross the shoal and big tidal rip to work our way out to the wreck. On the way out we began to see birds diving and these were Pelicans which were a good indication of some big bait in the area. We had rehearsed the drill for these big Red Drum if we found them. Basically drop everything. Grab the two 12wt Sage Xi3's with Sage 6010 reels loaded with the RIO 600 grain sinking line and start shaking the line out to get it sinking as fast as possible. We were using Captain Sarah's flies which resembled Menhaden or Thread Fin Herring.

Sarah had also had warned us that if she saw these fish on the Furuno sounder we were to get things going and not be worried by her extreme enthusiasm!

Well about half mile from the buoy marking the wreck we got the message. Gear in the water now! Justi was first to hook up. His rod looked like a closed C. I was looking at my line and all of a sudden it began moving. I hand struck the fish and made several heavy hand tugs. These fish don't run. They just move like a bus. There is no way you can initially control the fish. You just hang on and hope sharks don't get involved.

Well after about fifteen minutes things settled down to a tug of war. Each fish went behind boat. To keep our fly lines from tangling in each other, we tried to force these massive Reds to go in opposite directions. Eventually after a few angler/line collisions we got the fish to the surface and the picture shows the result. These fish are hardy but should be returned to the water as soon as possible. One of these big female Reds had to have her swim bladder punctured. This is not harmful if done correctly.

Now for the advice. Don't do winter offshore fishing without good instruction. Weather can turn against you in minutes not hours. If you are not sure of your boating skills hire a guide/captain. Use the very best tackle you can afford. Check all knots ,etc. If you are not too happy with your casting seek professional guidance. It is a lot more fun when you know what you are doing.

Best,

David

The Fly Fishing Shop, Welches, OR

1(800) 266-3971

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Fish long & prosper,
Mark & Patty

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